Simon Serrailler has just wrapped up an exhausting and difficult case for SIFT - Special Incident Flying Taskforce - and is on a sabbatical on a Scottish island when he is recalled to Lafferton. Two local prostitutes have vanished and are subsequently found strangled. By the time he gets back, another girl has disappeared. Is this a vendetta against prostitutes by someone with a warped mind? Or a series of killings by an angry punter? But then one of the Cathedral wives goes missing, followed by another young married woman.
©2010 Susan Hill (P)2010 Long Barn Books Limited
"excellent - nothing else to say really!"
over last few months ive listened to ALL the susan hill books in the 'serrailler' series. there are 5 books currently (hope more will be written) crime is my first choice to listen to & these books fit the bill exactly. all i ask is a good story, well written & well narrated which all these books are. really like steven paceys narration - he is excellent. also grown to actually like several of the characters in the stories. can only heartingly recommend listening to all 5 books. you really wont be dissapointed
"just bliss"
I can't rate the combination of Susan Hil and Stephen Pacey highly enough. Her writing is so natural, and the characterisation and dialogue are more important to me than the plots (of which there are always several on the go). His narration is perfect. Each member of the cast has such a distinctive voice that even when a scene opens with dialogue I always know who is speaking.
I have really got to know the characters well over the five books, and Susan Hill is not afraid to kill key members off, in a way which is very lifelike.
I'm just sad that I've reached the end of the audiobooks, though I think she has written at least one more.
K.Gibson
"enjoyed every word"
I am a great fan of all of Susan Hills work. This one was excellent. the characters are well written and you care what happens to them. You feel truly sorry when one of the main characters disappears and is a victim to the strangler. I did guess who the strangler was just over half way along, but even so it was v enjoyable to see the plot develop.
"As good as ever"
I always enjoy The Simon Serrailler series as they paint a picture of the community. My only slight quibble was the choice of murderer - I did not think we were given quite enough clues to make it a convinving selection.
"This was boring"
I've read/listened to all the others in the series before this, and was increasingly disappointed but bought this based on the reviews. It was worse than the others - or maybe I'm just bored to death with the characters. I found it overly long and drawn out, the reading irritating, the characters irritating. And why is Simon considered such a great cop? He does zero actual policing in this. I also found the ending unconvincing... I had guessed the killer well before the end but the reason was just rubbish. And the reasons for the behaviour of another main character were never explained (unless I missed it... I was tending to drop off while listening). Now I'm bored of even reviewing it. ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz
"Riveting Read!"
You won't be disappointed with this book. I'm quite hard to please and usually plump for Simon Kernick, Mark Billingham and Peter James' type books but this one was great and the storyline is well worth 5 stars.
It kept me guessing right up to the end of the book and the resulting discovery was a total shock and made more so by the revelation of who the murderer was!!!!
You won't be disappointed I'm sure!
"Excellent story"
I've enjoyed a number of Susan Hill's books featuring her interesting and sensitive detective Simon Serrailler. I thought this was the best so far. The main characters are believable and make an impression on ones mind. The book is not only a pacy detective story but also fleshes out the personal and working relationships of Serrailer which adds an extra dimension of enjoyment.
"Shadows in the Street"
Entertaining, but not as good as some other Susan Hill novels from the same series. It was on sale for £5.99 and it was worth what I paid for it. If I had paid more I would have been disappointed. That about says it.